According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children should get doses of the DtaP vaccine at the ages of two months, four months, six months, 15 to 18 months and four to six years. The CDC also recommends that preteens and adults get a Tdap booster shot.

Health officials say pertussis symptoms include a cough and runny rose for one or two weeks, followed by weeks to months of rapid coughing fits that sometimes end with a whooping sound. A mild fever may also arise.

The disease is treatable with antibiotics.

The total number of cases reported this year is still well below the record 1,144 cases seen in San Diego County three years ago.

For more information about whooping cough and local vaccination clinics, visit this website or call the HHSA Immunization Branch at (866) 358-2966.